


When Demons Fall

by whovian1243



Category: The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Cause ow feels, Charlotte isn't consul, F/M, Jem isn't a silent brother, Josiah Wayland is, M/M, heronstairs, much gay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-17
Updated: 2017-08-08
Packaged: 2018-10-06 12:37:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10334879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whovian1243/pseuds/whovian1243
Summary: Just a small thing I wrote for English class! Kudos and criticism highly appreciated! This short story explores the aftermath of the Infernal Devices series and Jem and Will's blossoming love for one another! Also there's Downworlder riots.Bear in mind this was written a long while ago, I have improved since but can't be assed editing!Please enjoy!





	1. Prologue

November 15, 1878

Consul Wayland brought his gavel down firmly, silencing the voices of the Clave. ‘Order!’ he yelled. ‘Downworlders have demon blood, we all know this. As Nephilim, it is our duty to banish demons from this world, and it has been since Jonathan Shadowhunter, the first of our proud race.’ The Consul was determined on abolishing the Accords, which give Downworlders basic rights. Without them, there wouldn’t be any semblance of peace in the Shadow World again. At these words, a man stood up. His name was Jonathan Aspenhallow, leader of the Madrid Institute and by extension the Spanish Enclave. He cleared his throat. ‘With all due respect, Consul, you are being incredibly harsh. The Clockwork War, however damaging to our forces, wasn’t at all the fault of the Downworlders. De Quincey’s beliefs were not reciprocated by the majority of his vampire clan, the warlocks stayed impartial the whole way through, and the werewolves and the faeries had almost nothing to do with the war. Mortmain, however powerful, however genius, was human.’  
Silence followed this speech. Never has the Clave had such a strong Downworlder rights advocate. The Consul knew this, and was fuming. ‘Why are you so protective of the Downworlders, Aspenhallow? Are you affiliating with them? Dirtying our holy blood?’ A gasp ran through the room. Jonathan’s face darkened, but his response was calm and collected. ‘No, I just have not forgotten that Downworlders have human souls. They may be part demon, but they are also part human, and in the faeries case, part angel. We are also duty bound to protect humans, or has your blind pursuit of vengeance let you forget that small fact?’   
The Consul ignored this, banged his gavel once more and said, ‘Motion passed. Downworlders, by which I mean lycanthropes, vampires, warlocks and faeries, are hereby forbidden to use magic of any sort, other than glamours to disguise any inhuman features from mundanes. Failure to comply will result in death. Vampires may not feed on humans. Lycanthropes mustn’t change, except on the full moon when it is inescapable. When they do change, they must be restrained. Warlocks and the Fair Folk may not perform magic, unless instructed by the Nephilim to help with something. This will be known as the Amendment of 1878 or the Amendment of the Clockwork War.’  
Silence followed the Consul as he left the building. The sound of a carriage door slammed, and then hooves clopped away on the cobblestone. Voices immediately broke out as soon as the sounds of the horses faded away. Nobody thought this was a good idea, and the band of Lightwood’s, Herondale’s, Carstairs’ and Branwell’s debated what travesties would occur, or more accurately, how soon. They stayed there for hours, before trudging off back to the London Institute’s carriage.


	2. Chapter One

May 29, 1882  
It was full out war on the battlefield. Magnus Bane, High Warlock of Brooklyn stood amongst the back of the throng of Downworlder rebels yelling and shouting at the Nephilim, who were trying valiantly to defend the York Institute. The Downworlders were in complete chaos, longstanding animosities between the vampires and werewolves were pushed aside as the common enemy was thrust in front of them. The Fey were wheedling their way inside the institute, and by accomplishing that, they also managed to wheedle their way into the Shadowhunter’s pants. Damn good multi-taskers, those faeries. Magnus cast his eyes around, and saw Henry Branwell, a kind and compassionate Shadowhunter whom he had worked with upon several occasions, struck unconscious, lying in his wheelchair. His wife Charlotte’s scream was loud, and full of anguish and pain. Still, the Downworlders relentlessly pushed on. Her comrades took her position as she pulled Henry’s wheelchair through the doors of the institute, and then sprinted back out to resume fighting, her black gear allowing for greater movement than a dress, corset and bustle would have. The gender equality gap was far less distinct with Shadowhunters, he realised, one of their good points. Too bad they were arrogant and cruel.   
Magnus slowly moved toward the back of the group, but not before Charlotte saw him. Her eyes narrowed as she turned away and fought off two werewolf children. Magnus stopped walking forward, and slowly the other Downworlders forced their way around him, and he turned and walked away from the fight, leaving his supposed comrades behind him.  
~~~~~  
The lady screamed as the demon turned to face her. She stepped back into a wall, feverishly trying to find a way out without taking her eyes off the monster in front of her. She was about to give up hope, when a voice shouted out, ‘Hey! Over here!’ The Eidolon demon turned to face the black haired, blue eyed boy standing in front of him, gripping a glowing dagger and pushing his hair out of his eyes. William Herondale was holding his seraph blade, and as the demon charged, he dodged sideways and stuck his blade into its side. The monster let out a shriek of pain, and crumbled away into dust. The girl, clutching her wide array of skirts so tightly her knuckles were turning white, let out a sigh, and stuttered out, ‘I-I am grateful to you, sir. If you had not been so kind to destroy that-that thing, I fear what may have become of me.’ Will smiled. ‘That’s quite all right; it’s all in a day’s work!’ The girl, she couldn’t have been more than fifteen years old, let out a small, breathless laugh, and promptly fainted.  
‘The demon got her.’ Will was telling the story of the events that had happened out in the alleyway. ‘It was a small scratch, not quite enough to take effect immediately. Besides, I saw another Mark on her!’ Charlotte Branwell, Head of the London Institute, was visibly shaking with anger. ‘You could not have been certain, Will. She acted like a mundane, and was in every way shape or form, a mundane! Putting a rune on her could have killed her!’ Will looked at his shoes, abashed. Charlotte could make anybody tremble. ‘It was an iratze, Charlotte. A healing rune was already on her body, I saw it on her neck.’ Charlotte was still mad, Will could tell, but she dropped the subject. Turning to face the girl lying in the infirmary, Charlotte merely sighed, and walked out. Just as Will was about to leave, the girl opened her eyes. She immediately started to panic, shouting questions and mentioning a few rather unladylike words during the process. Will managed to hold her down, with Charlotte’s help, as she had heard the ruckus and come running back in.  
‘It’s okay!’ Will made a gentle shushing noise, and smiled at the screaming girl. ‘We’re helping you! Okay, remember me? From the alleyway?’ Her eyes flashed with recognition, and she quieted. ‘Where am I?’ Will’s blue eyes betrayed his relief, and he answered her. At that moment, a silver haired boy walked in. His silver eyes lightened as his gaze fell on Will, and then it dropped to the girl in the bed. ‘Who’s this?’ Will faltered, as he realised he did not know the girls name. Fortunately, she supplied it. ‘My name is Icelyn. Icelyn Graymark.’ At this, the Shadowhunters tensed ever so slightly. ‘Your friend here found me in an alleyway, and saved me. What he was saving me from, I am yet to discover.’ Icelyn looked at Will curiously, and he sprang at the chance to answer a question he knew. ‘It was an Eidolon demon.’ He said, and cast a glance to the silver boy, who introduced himself as James, or Jem, Carstairs. Will’s gaze flicked to and from Jem so quickly it was almost like it didn’t happen. ‘You okay, Will?’ Jem’s voiced a concern no one else had, his worry clearly evident. Will’s blue eyes momentarily softened, yet he scoffed. ‘A single demon? Jem, it sounds like you doubt my capabilities.’ Jem smirked, and replied in an equally sarcastic tone. ‘Of course it was a derogatory comment toward your demon-murdering abilities, and it couldn’t have been that I'm worried for you, no way.’ Will smiled. ‘You’re my parabatai. You'd have known.’ Jem looked taken aback, as though that thought hadn’t occurred to him. ‘Oh yeah.’ He shrugged.   
‘Uh, I really hate to break up this exciting conversation, but what’s a parabatai? And you said you Marked me, what does that mean?’ Will turned to Icelyn and explained about the parabatai ritual that joins two people, so that they become partners in battle and in life. He explained about being able to draw strength from each other, and to be able to feel it when the other person is physically hurt. ‘Men and women can become parabatai with each other. Parabatai are basically family. The one thing they cannot do, however, is fall in love.’ Will looked down, and then up again. ‘I’ve never understood why, it’s a strange rule even for the Clave. Whenever they're asked, they just say “Emotions cloud judgment.” But parabatai love each other anyway, just platonically. It is quite strange. As for the Marks, they're symbols given to Nephilim to use to enhance our features, and help us with using battles. I put a healing rune on you with my stele,’ Will held up a silver rod shaped like a pencil, ‘to help your body fix the cut the demon gave you.’ Icelyn nodded. ‘I-I feel light-headed.’ She complained. ‘I think I’ll just…’ Her breathing slowed as she fell asleep. Asleep, or unconscious again. Will had never been apt at telling the difference. Will, Jem and Charlotte, who had been silent while putting damp towels on Icelyn’s forehead, as she had had a slight fever while the healing rune took effect, all stood up and left the room.   
The cook, an Irish girl by the name of Bridget, had prepared a wonderful roast for the Nephilim. Charlotte, Will and Jem sat on the left side of the table, facing Will’s sister Cecily and Theresa Gray, the heroine of The Clockwork War and the saviour of the Shadowhunters. Charlotte picked at her lamb chops, before setting her knife and fork down. ‘I wish to tell you all something, something most terrible. It is, in fact, the reason Henry is not here to join us at dinner.’ ‘I thought he was in his laboratory, is he okay?’ Tessa piped up. Charlotte gave a dry laugh. Her husband was known for staying in the basement for extended periods of time, inventing tools and the like. He and warlock Magnus Bane had worked together to create the Portal, a fast, accurate means of transport all members of the Shadow World used to get around to different places. But alas, Henry was not inventing right now. Charlotte continued. ‘No. He is currently resting in his room, having been injured in a Downworlder riot.’   
Several shocked faces looked up at her. ‘A Downworlder riot?’ Gabriel repeated. Charlotte nodded. ‘The Downworlders are protesting against their lack of rights. The vampires especially are becoming spiteful, biting mundanes unnecessarily. The faeries have been rebelling subtly for years, we were fools not to realise it sooner. The warlocks are getting into the battle, and are causing an alarming amount of damage. Today Henry and I had to defend the York Institute, and I even saw Magnus Bane in the crowd of Downworlders. We knew from the day Consul Wayland destroyed the Accords that this would happen. But, even though we knew it would happen, we are barely more prepared than the rest of the Nephilim to fight battalions of Downworlders like this. We must band together. We must stay strong.’


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was for English class so basically I just recapped the stuff from the original series. feel free to skip man

Will passed Jem his weapons belt, and then grabbed his own. ‘It’s great to be getting out again, is it not?’ Jem ignored him. ‘Jem?’ Will turned toward him, confused by his lack of response. ‘Hm?’ Jem made a sudden noise and looked up. Seeing Will’s concern, he smiled. ‘Forgive me. I was lost in my thoughts. What was it you said?’ Will repeated himself, still looking slightly concerned. Jem laughed, and tucked a curl of Will’s raven hair behind his ear. ‘Will, I’m perfectly fine. And yes, especially since Tessa has decided to grace us with her company.’ Will smiled at this, as it jogged a memory of him and Tessa, when they’d barely just met. He had explained to her the roles of Shadowhunters and what they did, also commenting on Charlotte’s way with weapons. Tessa had been appalled at the fact that women were also Nephilim, claiming they couldn’t have feelings of “bloodlust,” “fierceness” and “warrior feelings.” Now here she was, four years later, fighting with them, defending their property. It was almost as if she had become a Shadowhunter herself. Just as Will was about to remind Jem of this, Tessa walked into the room. She was dressed in a black tunic and trousers, the typical female ensemble for a Nephilim lady going out to battle. Will smiled at her, and passed her a spare weapons belt from the rack. She took it and returned the grin, sliding an ordinary dagger into the sheath and Will and Jem picked up their seraph blades from the table. Only Nephilim could use seraph blades, as they were lethal to demons and Downworlders.   
The three of them left the armoury, passing Henry on the way down the corridor. He looked disgruntled, and was looking around him frantically. He gave them a nod as they passed each other, and while he was distracted he found himself stumbling into a table. The vase on top of it fell to the floor and smashed. Henry swore, and immediately blushed, hastily apologising to Tessa. First he’d lost his latest prototype, then he smashed an antique vase, and to top it all off, he had sworn in front of a lady! He wasn’t having a particularly good day at all. Tessa smiled and told him it was fine. Henry sighed in relief, thanked her and promptly made to step forward. The three warriors all shrieked and moved to push his bare feet out of the way of the shards of china. Henry looked at them all, confused, and then looked down. His expression cleared up immediately. ‘Ah.’ He turned around. ‘I’ll grab a dustpan.’ He wandered off. Will sighed. ‘He’s never going to get that dustpan. I’ll go.’   
Half an hour later, Jem, Will and Tessa walked through the Portal in the drawing room. Magnus had set it up for them, and all major city Institutes had one. The three of them were instantly placed into the entryway to the Liverpool Institute. Jem, cheeks flushed, turned toward the door. Will advanced on the other side, and both of them took their shining seraph blades out. Together they whispered the chosen angelic names of their blades; (Jem’s was Samandriel, and Will christened his Michael) and, like true parabatai, they fought as one, communicating without words or even specific signals. They’d fought together so often, they knew each other completely. They moved as one, blocking and disarming Downworlders so skilfully Tessa stood and watched in awe. It was not until Jem called out for her, that she awoke from her stupor. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks, and moved toward the battle, gripping her dagger tightly.  
~~~~~  
The warlock clicked his fingers, forcing Jem’s seraph blade out of his hand. He advanced cruelly, his warlock’s mark, (something that marks them out as not merely human, in this case a cheetah’s tail) flicking behind him. William, about three feet away from Jem, spun, kicking a vampire in the chest. As he turned, he saw Jem on the ground, and his sense of danger grew substantially. Moving faster than he thought possible, he flung himself in between his parabatai and the warlock, brandishing his blade as he stood above Jem. Will stabbed the Downworlder, who started screaming in pain. Will tugged the blade back, now stained with blood, and crouched down to Jem, worry etched deep into his face. ‘I’m fine. Thank you, Will.’ Jem gripped Will’s arm tightly, who wrapped his other arm around him.   
When Jem was upright, they stayed in that position for a second longer than was completely necessary.  
~~~~~  
Tessa patched up her eye, all the while suffering relentless queries from Icelyn. She simply wanted to know everything that had happened on the trip. After they had exhausted that topic of discussion, along with Tessa’s fragile lungs, she begged for details on The Clockwork War. This was a topic Tessa had become used to retelling; although this time she really had to start at the very beginning, since Icelyn didn’t know as much as what everyone else had.  
‘When I was sixteen, and my aunt had just died, my brother had written to me asking me to come to London to live with him. I was in New York at the time, and agreed to take a boat over here. It turned out my brother had been kidnapped and forced to write to me. I was taken into custody by two demons, not that I had known they were demons at the time. They taught me how to ‘Change,’ which is where I basically-well,’ she paused. ‘I’ll show you if you like.’  
Icelyn nodded, eager to see what Tessa could do. She’d been hearing about it for as long as she’d been here, yet the opportunity had never occurred for Tessa to demonstrate it. She held out her hand, and asked for something of Icelyn’s. Curious, the younger girl unclipped a necklace, and passed it over. Tessa closed her hand, and then her eyes. It was the same as always. First, nothing, but then there was a tiny flicker in the back of her mind. Tessa reached for it, groping around in the darkness, before reaching the small flame and lapsing onto it in her mind, which was slowly becoming Icelyn’s. She shuddered, and then the transformation took effect. It was like pins and needles were pricking her body, over and over. Her eyes flew open, and she clutched the necklace tighter. She saw Icelyn’s shocked face, and smiled. She stood up, and suddenly realised how loose the dress was. It had turned into a clump around the ankles with something of a train about four feet long. Her neckline, so low it was unacceptably improper, was hastily picked up and held as Tessa attempted to regain some modesty, blushing furiously. ‘I am so sorry, I should have thought of this before I transformed, I am dreadfully out of place here, I beg of your forgiveness.’ Icelyn’s face stayed in that scandalised expression, but a moment later she grinned. ‘That was incredible!’ She squealed. Tessa smiled embarrassedly. ‘Of course I forgive you, for that was entirely not your fault.’ ‘Thank you.’ Tessa smiled, and let go of her facade. She held out the necklace, and Icelyn turned around, requesting if she could put in on for her. Tessa obliged, and continued with her story.  
‘The Dark Sisters taught me to do that, mostly so I could glean information for them from their dead victims. Then Will, Henry and Thomas eventually found their way to me, and rescued me- ‘Thomas?’ interrupted Icelyn. ‘Who’s he?’ Tessa paled, and her hands shook. Icelyn instantly knew she had hit a sore spot. ‘Oh, I apologise profusely,’ she started, but Tessa shook her head, and told the story of the chauffeur who had also helped around the Institute. ‘He was so kind to everybody, and he died in battle protecting us. He was a noble man, and we all loved him.’ Icelyn had lost her previous cheerful attitude. ‘I’m so sorry for your loss.’ Tessa smiled and shook her head. ‘Thank you. As I was saying, they rescued me and brought me here, much like they did you. I was trained, and I learned to defend myself, all the while everybody was trying to figure out who I am.’ She sighed, and leaned her head back. ‘It was decided I was a warlock, and even though the Nephilim usually despise Downworlders, they took me in. They let me stay.’ Tessa sighed and sat up straighter in her chair. Bustles could be rather inconvenient at times.  
‘And then we discovered Mortmain and learnt of his plan. He was building automatons, creatures with neither a seraphic nor demonic alliance. Mortmain was going to bind them to demonic spirits, in an attempt to create demons without a demon’s body. But, to do this, he needed me to Change into his dead father, as he was the only one who had the binding spell. I did it, unfortunately, but I knew something he did not. My angel necklace, it used to tick. It ticked because an angel was inside of it, put there and trapped by Mortmain. It was given to my mother to protect me and make sure I was not stillborn, as all children of Shadowhunters and demons usually are. My mother placed it in her jewellery box, and after she died my brother found it and gave it to me. I had found out about my guardian angel previously, so I decided to do something incredibly dangerous.’ Tessa took a deep breath, reliving those moments of pain and horror. ‘I changed into the Angel. I, or Ithuriel, the angel who was entrapped inside the pendant, proceeded to destroy Mortmain. Then he disintegrated the clockwork race, and-’ her breath caught. ‘The Angel left my body, and was free. It left me weakened, though, and it wasn’t certain whether I would recover or not. I pulled through, however, but Ithuriel was no longer trapped. I still keep the pendant though. Sentimental reasons...’ Tessa trailed off. Icelyn looked up and saw that she was crying. She started forward and put a hand on her back, slowly rubbing it in circles. Tessa smiled at her, and wiped her eyes. ‘And to top it off, my brother was a traitor. Then he died in my arms.’ Icelyn pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket. Tessa took it with a grateful smile. ‘Thanks, Icelyn,’ she said. The younger girl said nothing, but wrapped the elder in an embrace as she cried out the pain of those few months.  
Will and Jem walked silently into the drawing room, and took note of Tessa sobbing into Icelyn’s shoulder. The smaller girl caught their eye, and motioned for them to come in and sit down. Will walked straight over to Tessa, as he would have done regardless of Icelyn’s invitation, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Tessa started, and then relaxed as she saw his familiar blue eyes. She mopped her eyes again, and began apologising. The others hastily began stifling her, and comforting her. She looked around at her three friends and smiled, and her tears ceased to fall.


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yo yo yo it's ya friend light angst!!! it's cool tho don't worry

Will was sitting on an armchair reading A Tale of Two Cities, and Jem was playing the violin. The notes softly rang out through the building, emanating from the Parlour, which was where they were all seated. Will kept trying to concentrate on Sydney Carlton, yet was becoming increasingly distracted by the music. Eventually he gave up, placed his book on the table and leant back on the chair. His eyes closed, and he let the notes wash over him. Jem looked up and saw Will, curled up on the seat, blue eyes closed and black hair ruffled. He looked so peaceful, like he could have been sleeping. They were alone, and Jem simply smiled. He played louder, and his heart leaped as Will’s lips curved. As the bow hit middle C, Jem coughed. Will’s eyes snapped open, and he jumped up and raced over to the violinist, whose hands were now stained with blood. Will, his blue eyes now wide and terrified, picked Jem up and carted him off to the couch, then ran off. He came back with a small box that had a picture of Kwan Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy on it. Jem held the box as Will silently passed him a glass of water. Jem opened the silver container and took out a pinch of silvery powder. He dropped it in the water, and immediately downed the glass. Slowly, colour began to return to his cheeks. Will let out his breath, unaware he’d been holding it in. He dropped to the pale boy’s side, and took the glass and box out of his hands. ‘I do wish Mortmain hadn’t bought all of the yin fen.’ Jem sighed. ‘It’s killing me, Will. I’ll die without it and I’ll die if I take it. And there’s nothing anybody can do about it! It is so unfair!’ The silver boy, silver because of the yin fen, placed his head into Will’s chest. Jem, who always accepted his fate, Jem, who never complained or gave in to self-pity, Jem, the resilient one, was finally collapsing in pain. This was so out of character Will had no idea what to do. He simply stroked Jem’s hair and made soothing noises, and soon enough the elder boy was asleep. Will laid his head back on the cushion, emotions warring in his chest, and silently closed the damned drug box and placed it back on the mantel before returning to his seat and pushing Jem’s silver hair back from his forehead, worry and fear spreading throughout his mind.  
~~~~~  
Will bent over, howling in laughter. Jem cracked a wide smile, and Tessa looked satisfactorily at her two friends. Will gasped for breath, and quickly regained his composure. ‘You’re so naive, Tessa!’ He broke out into a short laugh, before continuing. ‘Ducks are bloodthirsty, vicious, cannibalistic beasts!’ He raised his voice by about three octaves to poorly imitate Tessa’s earlier remark. ‘They’re just ducks! They’re cute little things!’ Will howled again, tears streaming from his eyes. Tessa’s smile had long since turned into a look of indignation when she had realised she was being mocked, but she could not help but laugh slightly at Will, who was causing quite a commotion in the square. Tessa smacked him lightly on the arm, a grin forming on her face as Will fought to keep his amusement hidden somewhat. The three of them stopped in front of a cafe, and Jem and Tessa sat together while Will went to order their coffees. Before they could do more than open their mouths, Will re-joined them and placed himself next to Jem, throwing an arm around his shoulders.   
“I’m glad we got away from Jessamine.’ Will said. ‘Imagine if we’d had to bring her with us on this trip. We’d be doing nothing but shopping for dresses! I’m so glad you prefer books, Tessa.’ Will smiled at her, and Jem yawned and put his head on Will’s arm. Will cast an eye to his watch, exclaiming at the late hour. The three of them walked back up to the Institute, Will and Tessa excitedly talking about A Tale of Two Cities while Jem occasionally muttered something sleepily. They mostly ignored him.


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> lol imma add all this shit at once it's nearly done anyway i think i have one more chapter to write??? i haven't written this for like a year now i forget man

‘The riots are led by a vampire named Eleanor Whitecaste.’ Charlotte spread a heap of papers out on the table. ‘This is what we have managed to collect so far. It is mostly reports on the attacks, but there is some information on those who seem to be the leaders of the attacks. Eleanor is hundreds of years old, and she’s the head of the London vampire clan. It does make sense that she would be orchestrating these attacks, along with some of the eldest warlocks. She’s powerful, and will be hard to defeat. She’s been alive so long holy objects have no effect on her, even seraph blades will act like a normal weapon when used against her.’ Will intercepted her speech. ‘Why can’t we get adult Shadowhunters to take care of this? Why must teenagers save the world?’ Charlotte sighed. ‘I wish it weren’t so, but the others don’t believe the Downworlders are rioting. They believe that the Downworlders are in their rightful place and that they know it. So, when problems happen, they’re just going to impose harsher rules and kill all the Downworlders. Right now, our best hope is killing their leader.’   
~~~~~  
Tessa sighed as she threw the dagger at the wall, missing the target completely. Will, standing by the door, chuckled, and Tessa whirled to face him. ‘Just because you’ve had more practice does not mean I can’t become as good as you.’ Will smirked and picked up the knife, throwing it with perfect accuracy from 20 feet away. It thudded into the wall in the dead centre of the target. Tessa scowled. Will walked over behind her and took her hand, correcting her grip and stance.   
After half an hour, Tessa was marginally better, and as she actually hit the target Will let out a celebratory noise. They smiled at each other before Charlotte came running in, and said Jem had had another attack. Will, face contorting in fear, sprinted out of the room. Tessa stayed behind to quickly pick the knives off the floor, intending to head out straight after Will. Before she could turn out the door, strong hands came up under her arms and held a cloth over her nose and mouth. She struggled at first, and then went limp in her captor’s arms as he carried her away, unbeknownst to everybody else in the Institute.   
~~~~~  
Tessa awoke in a cold, dark cell. She immediately sprang off the bed and reached for the dagger she always kept in her boot to find it gone. She strode over to the door, to find it locked. The windows were barred, and there was nothing in the cupboard on the wall, save for a single book. Eagerly, she grabbed it, only to realise it was a cook book. Great lot of help that was. She took in her surroundings one last time before the panic truly set in. She feverishly ruffled the blankets on the bed, looking for anything that could help her get out, or send a message. She collapsed on the floor, terrified and defenceless.  
~~~~~  
Why isn’t Tessa here yet? Will, now alone with a sleeping Jem, was stroking his hair back from his burning forehead and placing damp towels on his neck. He hadn’t paid it much thought, Jem had been the only thing he paid any attention to at all. Will called out to Charlotte, as she was bound to be by the door in case anything got worse. He assumed correctly, and she came running in, panicked and flustered. Will calmed her down, and explained that he was going to look for Tessa. Charlotte agreed it was odd she hadn’t come by, and was perfectly happy to watch Jem for a few minutes. Will brushed one last stray hair back from the forehead of his parabatai and made his way out the door.  
As he opened the door to the empty training room, he was hit by a waft of something that made him slightly drowsy. He saw the knives that were dumped on the floor by the rack, and he knew she had been kidnapped as soon as he saw the scuff marks from her shoes on the hardwood floor. The colour drained from his face as he sprinted to find Charlotte to tell her what he’d found out.  
Jem was awake when he burst into the room. They both listened worriedly, and when he finished Jem tried to stand and go find her. Charlotte and Will both flat-out refused, Will saying he was going to go the following day to be fully prepared. ‘They’re hours away, Jem. You aren’t going to help Tessa by going after her at your weakest.’ He conceded, and Charlotte left the room so that Jem could sleep. Will sat in the chair next to him, the two boys consumed with worry, but also glad that it wasn’t the other who was missing.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> deeze chapters are short man soz

Jem and Will threw on their gear, sprinted out to the stables and saddled the two fastest horses the institute owned. Jem, mostly back to his normal strength, held out a hand for Will to use to get onto his rather tall horse. Will hopped on and held a hand out for Jem to pull himself up on the side of his own mare, the way they’d practiced a thousand times. Both boys on their horses within three seconds, they took off in the dawn light, using Tessa’s favourite book to track her by.   
The two boys took a break after eight hours of riding, and set up camp. Neither of them felt particularly hungry, so they scrapped their plans for dinner and just argued over who would take first watch. Eventually Jem stepped down, and quietly slept for four hours, Will unconsciously resting a protective hand over Jem’s stomach.  
~~~~~  
Tessa was seated on the edge of her bed, reading the cooking book for the seventh time before there was any change in her routine. A lady walked in, a well-dressed woman with black wavy hair and dark brown eyes. She smiled without showing her teeth, and the man behind her walked in with his head bowed. He placed a tray of food by Tessa’s feet, and walked out again with a small, ‘Milady.’ The woman widened her grin, showing her vampiric fangs. Tessa recoiled slightly, and shut her book with a snap. ‘Eleanor,’ she whispered reverently. Eleanor nodded and, with an Irish lilt, began to speak. ‘I am not sure if I should be glad you know who I am. Depends upon what rumours you have heard about me.’ She grinned, retracting her fangs and looking all the more beautiful for it. She took a seat next to Tessa, acted as though they were best friends and explained of her plan.  
‘You wish me to do what?’ Tessa shrieked. ‘No! The Shadowhunters would not even do what you believe they will, and Consul Wayland will surely come out of his house and proclaim to not be dead.’ Eleanor smiled at this, and whispered, ‘No he won’t.’ Tessa glared. ‘Explain.’ Eleanor obliged, saying ‘while you’re pretending to be him pretending to be dead, a group of my finest are to be kidnapping him. We will, how do I put this, be attempting to gain information of sorts, information only he knows. Then, we will kill him, and replace your body with his. You and your friends can get off scot free if you promise not bother us Downworlders. The other Nephilim should clearly back down after such a display, and we can take control. My fellow conspirators, warlocks Ragnor Fell and Magnus Bane, will be responsible for the punishment of the Nephilim. Appeal to them, if you must, though I truly believe you should be with us. You are a warlock after all, or closer to one than you are Nephilim. Join us, Theresa, and be a part of our plan. You are already good friends with Bane, you should be able to easily convince him to spare a couple of your friends if you side with us; he’s too soft for his own good.’ Eleanor smiled, not bothering to retract her fangs. Yet Tessa had heard enough. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Never will I side with you, not when you are hurting innocent people. Children have been murdered in your attacks, children who weren’t involved in the decision that took away your rights. Adults who sided with your kind were also slaughtered, and in doing that you lost the support of their families. You have made a mistake, the Shadowhunters will win this war and I will side with them, as I am part-Nephilim. I may be a warlock, but I can still give birth, and Runes do not affect me whatsoever. I may not be fully one of them, but I still believe in them. So you can take your offer and leave me here, if you wish, or possibly torture me, but I will not break. I will never join you.’ And with that, she opened her boring cook book and resumed reading about how to make raspberry tart. Eleanor scowled and left.  
She didn’t come back with food again.  
~~~~~  
Jem kicked down twenty-nine doors in total, getting lucky with the last. Tessa shrieked as the door flew open, but promptly ran toward the familiar silver hair as her saviour ran in. She collapsed in his arms, weak and feverish. ‘Will!’ Jem yelled. ‘I’ve found her! Will!’ He slowly set her down on the bed as Will careened around the corner. He sighed and moved forward to place his hand on Jem’s shoulder. ‘We have to leave.’ Jem muttered. Will sighed and nodded. ‘Can we carry her? Is it too improper?’ He shook his head as soon as the words left his mouth, following it up with, ‘It’s not like we have much of a choice.’ They proceeded to lift her arms and legs, albeit ungracefully, when a cold voice said, ‘I would not bother with it, if I were you.’  
The boys whipped around, and saw an elegant lady standing there, dressed in a gorgeous crimson dress with enough black lace to look pretty, yet it wasn’t overdone. Her long, ebony hair tumbled from her head, upon which rested a black hat with a scarlet ribbon around the base. The cut of her neckline was a little low to be considered completely modest, but it wasn’t too revealing. ‘Eleanor,’ Will breathed.   
Neither of the boys gave any of her beauty a second glance, however, as she snarled and her fangs popped out. Jem jumped behind the vampire while Will distracted her, seraph blade gleaming. Snarling, Eleanor gripped a dagger in her hand. She turned to Jem, and Will’s heart exploded with fear and worry, screaming to and for Jem in a moment of pure, blind terror. She simply knocked him in the head, however, and turned back to Will as he crumpled to the floor. Eleanor smiled cruelly. She threw the dagger, not at Will, but at the sleeping figure on the twin-sized bed.   
The next thing Will noticed was the blood.


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is going to happen??? should i leave it here and not update for months again hmmm am i going to be cruel to you lovelies

It was the shock that made Tessa’s eyes fly open. The knife embedded in her stomach was only protruding by the handle, and she pulled it out slowly, still in shock. Will was beside her in an instant. His words, as always, were strong and beautiful and compassionate, but his blue, blue eyes betrayed his true fear. Surprisingly, Tessa was the comforting one. She patted his cheek clumsily and was losing consciousness as she mumbled nonsense. She looked up at Will tear streaked face, then beside him as Jem made his way to their bed, a bemused smile on his face which quickly faded to a look of horror. He mouthed something, Tessa supposed it was a no, but then he screamed. Or it looked like he screamed. Tessa couldn’t hear very much. She smiled slowly as her eyes began to droop, and murmured her last four words. ‘I love you both.’ Her weak grin dropped as her eyelids followed suit, and her chest ceased its heaving. Her heartbeat was the last to go. Will had his hand on her wrist, counting out the slow pulses as they got weaker. He gave up as his hands shook so badly he couldn’t feel her wrist, let alone find a beat. Tears blurred his vision as he turned to Jem and buried his face in his chest. He choked out a last statement, ‘Ave atque vale, Tessa. Hail and farewell.’ Both of them collapsed to the floor, in tears.  
~~~~~  
Hours later, Jem and Will hadn’t moved. Tessa’s lifeless body was still lying on the bed, eyes closed in a matter of respect. Jem was curled up in Will’s arms, heaving. They were both completely out of tears, heads pounding and eyes dry. Will, who was pulling himself together slightly faster than Jem, was stroking Jem’s silver hair unconsciously. Jem turned his tear-streaked face up to Will’s, a questioning look on his face. Will, seized by an emotion he couldn’t for the life of him place, pushed Jem’s hair back off his head. Jem smiled softly, puzzlement still etched in his face. The blue eyed boy, basically running on autopilot, leant down and started kissing the tears from Jem’s cheek, all the while more spilling from his own eyes. He slowly moved the kisses from Jem’s cheeks to his lips, and his hand reached up to play with Jem’s hair. Coaxing the other boy’s lips apart, Will slipped his tongue into Jem’s mouth. Jem let out a small, surprised sound before encasing Will in his arms, deepening the kiss, pushing closer and closer to the other boy. Hands were running up and down, slipping up under shirts and then pulling them off. Will threw his head back and Jem started kissing his throat, then his collarbone, exploring every inch of Will’s muscular, scar-ridden torso with his already swollen lips. He felt his lungs contracting, yet ignored the feeling, hoping it wasn’t a severe attack and it’d just go away. The feeling didn’t stop, yet Jem didn’t cough. He didn’t break out in a fever as he usually did when he had an attack, when the realisation hit him. This isn’t an attack at all. Jem gasped and pulled away, stumbling toward the door. ‘We cannot do this, Will!’ His eyes clearly showed remorse for what had just happened, and Will felt his heart shatter for the second time in four hours. ‘We’re parabatai, it’s forbidden! Our Marks would be stripped! Will, we’d be separated and exiled. I couldn’t do that!’ Jem turned and sprinted out the doorway. A dry, heaving sob escaped Will’s throat, and he broke down, screaming and crying.  
~~~~~  
Highly intoxicated, Will stumbled his way back to the Institute late at night. Walking down the corridor, he made his way past Jem’s room. Will heard the soft sounds of a violin playing, and instantly froze. The tune was a soft, sad one, full of sorrow and despair. Will’s fragile heart crushed, and he sped to his own room before he collapsed, tears falling, until he fell asleep.  
A creaking sound woke Will up. Groggy and hung-over, all he did was moan. A comforting hand cupped his cheek, and a gentle voice whispered to him. ‘Shhh. It’s okay.’ Will made another noise, but was silenced as he felt somebody’s lips on his. When they pulled away, he protested. ‘Will-’ Will knew it was Jem now, when his voice cracked. Jem took a deep breath. ‘Will, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I do love you. I love you so much, and that’s why I have to do this.’ The bed shuddered, and it took a moment for Will to realise the other boy was crying. Still mostly asleep, he made a shushing noise, trying his best to comfort the silver boy, the one he never wanted to be in pain. Jem kissed him again, more passionately this time, but quickly stood up. ‘I’m sorry, Will. Forgive me’ He stood up and walked away. Will tried to get him to stay, mumbling out a couple of words, but Jem had already left.  
The following morning Will woke with a worse headache than what he had contended with the previous night, when Jem came in. Thinking of Jem drew a smile to his face, and he stood up, intending to get some coffee for his hangover. He walked outside, the lights blinding him, and found everyone crowded in the living room, or everyone except Jem. Wondering what was happening; Will moved in between them and found a letter, unfolded on the table. Reading hurt his head, but at the tear-stained faces of everybody around him he tried his best.  
Dearest family,  
I am truly sorry for leaving this way, in the dead of the night, however I am afraid if I hadn’t I may not have been able to leave at all, and leaving on my part was a necessity. I wish I hadn’t had to have left, but I did, and it is all said and done. Please, do not be upset, and do not question William as to why this happened.  
He does not know.  
I miss you all terribly, and I am truly, truly sorry.  
Love, James Carstairs  
Will dropped the letter, and stumbled backward. Running to the kitchen, he threw up in the sink, tried to take a drink and threw up again. Shaking, he collapsed and slid down the cabinets. Charlotte came running in, after audibly ordering everybody else to stay outside. She crouched by Will, pity and sorrow etched onto her tear-stained face. She tucked a curl behind his ear, and the movement was so reminiscent of Jem he vomited all over the floor. Sobbing and moaning, the words of the letter floated tauntingly in his ear.  
He does not know.  
Will had a pretty good idea of why Jem had left, and the horror and shame it wrought was pure torture. He was ashamed. Jem had to have been appalled Will’s attitude and emotions, and rather than face him again he’d simply up and left. Will heaved again, sick splattering the kitchen. Standing up, he pushed Charlotte away and ran for his own room, where he sank down on his bed and let the screams out, tearing his lungs apart.  
~~~~~  
Jem’s heart pounded with longing and sorrow as he strode away on his mare. His parabatai rune throbbed and tore a hole inside of him, and emotional wounds weren’t even supposed to register through the bond. Unless... Jem shot upright, tears clearing from his vision as his left wrist began to sting, as though somebody was tearing it open with a knife. No visible wounds appeared, but his worst fears were confirmed when his parabatai rune ached and stung. Jem screamed, terror and heartache running through his body, shattering his resolve. He was twelve hours away, but he abruptly turned the horse around and cantered back toward London.


End file.
